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>> and now "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to "newsday." >> pope benedict ends his visit to cuba, meeting fidel castro and urging cubans to search for greater and freedom. american teenager is found guilty of murdering two british tourists in florida. >> north korea plans another missile tests and u.s. says it will withhold food aid. the sack politician, the missing police chief. the biggest scandal in year's grapes china's communist party. >> we are broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. this is "newsday."

>> hundreds of thousands of cubans have gathered to see pope benedict celebrate an open-air mass in revolution square on the last date of this visit to the island. for the first time, the pope met with the nation's revolutionary leader, fidel castro. our correspondent is in havana and has been gauging the reaction to the papal visit. >> it is not quite the dawning of a new era, but the faithful made their pilgrimage to the plaza of the revolution. tens of thousands flocked from their homes, emerging from a dark past of religious intolerance. a mixture of the devout and the beautiful -- dutiful. revolution square is normally home to giant socialist rallies. watched over by the day's --

gaze of an icon of marxist rebellion. today was not about the rule of man, but the rule of god. >> i am happy, happy, happy, happy. today is a wonderful day. in cuba, a wonderful day. >> pope benedict has chosen his words carefully this trip and a homily to the masses was no exception. it was a subtle message to the people and to this host. >> the truth is a desire of the human person, the search for which always supposes the sense of freedom. >> he spoke at length about the need for for religious freedom. and the vision for the future. >> cuba and the world needs

change. this will only occur if each one is in a position to seek the truth and chooses the way of love. >> and throughout this historic visit, the pope as preached a message of faith and freedom, of hope and change. it has been an opportunity to push the case for reform. it is something that cannot come quickly enough for many cubans. this is the kind of change people want. cubans can now buy and sell their homes for the very first time. handwritten signs advertise property for sale as residents talked business in the open street market. it is one of many economic reforms. >> what are the biggest problems for the cuban people? >> columns. -- homes. a lot of people living in little houses. ten people in one room.

maybe, sometimes. >> when the father of the revolution met the father of the catholic church, they turn to the problems of the world. both in their mid-80's and looking frail. catholic and communist, church and state. two such separate systems with very different values. in cuba, at least come that they can find a way to live together. >> an american teenager has been convicted of murdering to debut a british tourists in florida. james cooper and james kouzaris were shot dead in a housing estate last april. >> shawn tyson might of been the only one who was surprised by this because this has received a lot of media attention.

we knew there was a lot of evidence backed up against shawn tyson. >> with the length of time that it took the jury to come to the conclusion not surprising? >> from a personal perspective, it was a little bit surprising. usually, we see juries take five or six hours -- at least. a special obama had a trial that goes on for five or six days. -- especially when we have a trial that goes on for five or six days. the amount of evidence and the quality of the witness' testimony. >> we have statements from the family and a video. very poignant statement from both of those families. >> it was heartbreaking. the video played in court and wanting some of the stuff on fold. we were able to watch it live at the station. our hearts break for these families because they have

suffered an immeasurable tragedy. >> this case has the eyes of the world on sarasota. what kind of pressure or the police under? >> that is an interesting question. from the very moment this story across our desks, we knew that it was going to be huge. there was tremendous pressure on this relatively small police force, trying to decide -- a tremendous amount of pressure for them to get this right and do it quickly. there were so many people watching to make sure the investigation went smoothly. >> the united states has suspended plans to resume supplying food aid to north korea. this is a response to the declaration that they will launch a new rocket next month. president obama visited the demilitarized zone which separates north and south korea. the u.s. agreed last month to

deliver food again as long as the number refrained from missile testing. >> for the south koreans, it means that it is another degradation in terms of their relationship. from the u.s. perspective, this is embarrassing to the current administration. he has put a lot of political capital into this agreement. the u.s. and north korea fought to have an agreement on february 29. >> what might be the reaction from the north? >> for the north, it will be a series of unpredictable moves in the future. the next few vix are critical. the middle of next month will be

the hundred anniversary of the founder of north korea. before, during, and after that, the likelihood of some type of provocation is very high. everyone has to be on the alert. it could have notable ramifications. >> professor, a shift of tactics between diplomacy and confrontation. what might this recent event -- how could this affect already strained relations between north korea and the u.s.? >> the u.s. has to read calibrate its call to north korea. i think we see that. the evidence of that was in the recent obama speech. going forward, the u.s. will be increasingly skeptical. what we have is sort of a difference of opinion in terms of what an agreement is, at an international contract between these two parties. from the u.s. standpoint, it is

something where it is the endgame. there is a lot of bargaining and the terms on the agreement or what everybody is going to follow through on. from the korean perspective, contracts are viewed as a starting point, not an ending point. it can be adaptable. what we are seeing is north korea change in the circumstances all the time. >> a large fire has ripped through a factory in santiago. hundreds of firefighters battled to put out the flames while nearby residents were evacuated. authorities told the media that gwen's would carry the smoke clouds into the mountains, not the fact populated areas. the u.s. flight captain who suffered an apparent mental breakdown during a domestic flight has been charged with interfering with cabin crew. court documents say clayton

osbon started ranting. he began screaming about a bomb and had to be restrained by passengers about 3.5 hours into a flight from newark to las vegas. >> british officials have confirmed that the police chief of the center of a major political scandal in china arranged a meeting at a consulate before seeking the americans. the claim the policemen, wang lijun , had concerns of the death of a british businessman, neil heywood, was not accidental. >> tonight and chongqing, the scandal that is gripping china's communist party has a new twist. at the heart of the affair are three men. bo xilai, a rising star sacked

this month. neil heywood, a british business when, at now dead. -- a british businessman, now dead. tonight, u.k. government officials have confirmed that the police chief are arranged a meeting here with british diplomats at the consulate in chongqing the next day, he fled to the american mission instead. he tried to seek asylum there. he was taken away by chinese security. he has not been seen since. bo xilai, one of china's most popular politicians, it was a huge embarrassment. over same chongqing, he encouraged the stock shot and high-profile, but heavy-handed crackdown on corruption. his policies are intended enemies. at the annual congress, he looked tired, under pressure.

days later, he was sacked. it exposed the parties deep division. why did the police chief are arranged to meet british diplomats? one suggestion -- he meant that and permission to pass to them. yemenia been looking into the death of neil heywood, the british men linked to bo xilai. the official explanation was that neil heywood died of excessive drinking. some of this friend said that is suspicious. a source close to bo xilai's family said that he is a victim of a smear campaign. the affair that started here has unleashed in fighting among china's elite and no one knows when it will end. >> you are watching "newsday." as a brutal murder of the young man's c canhile, four suspected

neo-nazis are said to face murder charges. >> biologists are we writing the code of life. let's take a look at the stories making headlines around the world. let's start off with "the times ," a sense of fatalism and the trail by the west has descended over residence and syria. most feel a violent death at the hands of the regime is inevitable and they will continue to resist. panic at the petrol pump lead the daily telegraph.

the financial times counts the fiscal cost of the natural disasters that played 2011. the biggest post-9/11 loss. >> this is "newsday." >> the pope has met the former president of cuba, fidel castro. he called for the authorities to grant greater freedom for the catholic church. >> an american teenager has been found guilty of shooting dead two british tourists in florida in april of last year. brazil, russia, india, china, and south africa are the world's leading economic powerhouses. 40% of the world's people. leaders are meeting to discuss future trade and cooperation.

for more details on what is being discussed at the conference, i am joined by a senior fellow and vice-president of the observer research foundation. thank you so much for joining us. first of all, some analysts are saying that despite efforts to strengthen cooperation among the countries, china will dominate the grouping because of its vast resources and power. >> china does tend to be a strong player in any grouping. the whole idea is to try to move beyond the power and look at more cooperative framework. >> what do you think will be the role of india in the grouping?

how will indeed be able to neutralize the power -- how will indeed be able to neutralize the power of the chinese? >> i do not think it's is structured in a way that -- india has a very constructive role to play. prior to the first meeting in russia in 2009, india held the first meeting of experts. responsible for the debate but we see today in the grouping. i do not think that this adds between the two, india and china. i would go further and say our interaction may have removed a bit of their heads and our bilateral issues. i do not think it should be posed in that way. we have a very constructive role to play. we added south africa. it is not in the's duty as

opposed to help but go deep. we need to start coming up with substantial programs. this is what is expected from india. i am hopeful you might see some of those declarations. >> how can a group work as one cohesive unit? what lessons can be learned from each of the other countries? >> again, in fact, it is an example of why we do not have to work as one cohesive unit. we can have multiple views. and we can come together on the basis to cooperate for a common aspiration. you have democracy, big powers and the u.n. security council. yet he will find that the

leaders have invested years of their time to meet every year. what do we expect? this time, there is a certain expectation that we will deepen the direction between the countries. you might see an announcement of a working group to examine the setting up of the bank. you will see the announcement of its stock exchange. that is remarkable because it involves being able to invest in each other's exchanges and local currencies. you have created a framework for settling domestic currencies, something which is quite important. i do not think people are realizing that yet. >> a lot of potential in this grouping. thank you so much for joining us. >> japan has carried out its

first execution since july 2010. three inmates on death row were hanged. japan has more than 100 death row inmates, including the ringleader behind in 1995 attacks on the tokyo subway. last year, japan did not carry out any executions. the first time in more than two decades. our correspondent in tokyo has more details. >> there were three executions by hanging that took place this morning in different prisons across the country. the names of the people do have been executed have not been released. one of them is responsible for killing five people. this is the second time the governing democratic party of japan has actually carried out executions. >> there are still at 130 people on death row. describe the conditions they are

experiencing. >> according to amnesty international, they are unusually harsh. in frequent exercise. forced to spend much of their time stated in their cells. they're not told in advance about the date of their execution. some are held for decades and spend every day fearing that it is their last. it is something that amnesty international says drives many into insanity. to confirmed -- she went to witness the execution itself. an unprecedented move. she opened up the execution chamber to the media. opinion polls suggest that most people do still supports the death penalty. >> can we expect to hear from officials in japan about this?

>> the local media is quoting justice ministry sources. we're likely to get more details and the names of those who have been executed later on today. >> prosecutors in chile city will seek murder charge against four accused of brutally attacking and killing a young gay man. he was brutally beaten and had swastika's carved into his body by his attackers. he died on tuesday. the case has prompted a national debate about hate crimes. >> daniel sold clothes for a living, but dreamed of studying theater. the attack on him lasted an hour. he was beaten and burned with cigarettes. outside the hospital, hundreds kept a vigil as daniel late in

a,. chileans are shocked that it was a homophobic attack. there is anger here, too. the crowd shouted out, murders, when a member of the government visited the hospital. under pressure to show he is doing more to tackle the crimes, the president has promised that he will not rest until an anti- discrimination law is passed. >> we're going to construct a better protection for society. no one is discriminated against for any reason. all chileans have the same rights. >> on tuesday, the day daniel died, his mother thanked those gathering for support. >> i want to say on behalf of all my family that we appreciate the support and the beautiful things you've given us. >> four people have been jailed on attempted murder charges. it is not clear whether any of them had any links to neo-nazi groups.

>> the relatively new field of synthetic biology could be dangerous and higher controls are needed -- and tighter controls are needed, according to environmental groups. the cost of experimenting is dropping. >> in a back street in manchester, a group has gathered to do something unimaginable a few years ago. >> these are amateur biologists and they're putting together a machine that makes copies of dna. a device for playing with the codes for life. a step towards ordinary people controlling nature. >> this is part of a whole movement of diy for the normal person. that is what is different about this. people coming together that would be tinkering in their own houses. >> it is very curious. this is the stuff that you code

life live, so it is a big deal. >> manipulate their dna and bill step beyond that to design new artificial dna. that is attracting huge interest and the technology is not easy to get -- is now easy to get a hold of. sophisticated scientific equipment is now tumbling in price. anyone working on their own can pick it up off the internet. here is a dna synthesizer for well under 1,000 pounds. it is a machine that allows you to make artificial genes. for amateurs and a new number generation of scientists, this field offers exciting potential. >> we engineered a bacteria cell. >>. made synthetic dna to bacteria so they can detect parasite in water. a device that could save lives in africa. >> it was really exciting to be

able to apply synthetic biology to an area that does not get a lot of research. they have real problems that need to be solved. here is something we can actually do. >> scientist and amateurs are trying to create new forms of life to produce everything from fuel to medicines. they say they're being very careful about synthetic biology, but environmental groups and insurers are worried. >> the synthetic biology, they were concerned of the pace of change and the uncertainty, the unintended consequences could lead to harmful ecological facts. more research is necessary. >> the challenge, making sure they use is positive, and not a danger. >> that is it. thank you very much for watching "newsday."

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries.

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